Swiss Justice Minister to raise migration issue in SL

Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga will tackle the issue of repatriating Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka during her visit to the country, Swissinfo.ch reported on Sunday.

It said migration will feature prominently on her trip to Sri Lanka and India.

In July, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration has said it would apply more stringent criteria for granting Sri Lankan nationals – mostly ethnic Tamils - refugee status.

The decision was taken in light of a perceived improvement in the human rights record by the Sri Lankan authorities.

Switzerland has been criticised in the past for forcing failed asylum seekers to return to Sri Lanka.

Human rights groups say that some returnees were arrested and tortured for having suspected links with the Tamil separatist movement.

In March during a visit to Bern, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister promised repatriated Sri Lankans safe passage when they returned home.

Around 50,000 people from Sri Lanka live in Switzerland, mostly Tamils, who fled the island’s 30-year civil war that ended in 2009.

But not all who arrived in Switzerland were allowed to stay, a situation that has alarmed NGOs.

During her visit to Colombo, Sommaruga hopes to formalise a bilateral agreement governing repatriations from Switzerland and to intensify cooperation between the two countries on the issue.

A press statement said she would be meeting with returnees from Switzerland and will visit a project for vocational training and continuing education that receives funding from Switzerland and is also open to returnees from Switzerland.